Hypnosis and brainwashing
The stone-paved path was lined with upright poplar trees. Sunlight filtered through the leaves and branches, scattering down in a warm, gentle glow. A few elderly people gathered around a small stone table, arguing noisily about the black and white pieces on the chessboard.
Kong Yue got out of the car, came to the old man's side, and called out very obediently, "Grandpa Long?"
"Yo!" Master Long, his white beard covering half his face, said with a smile, "Little Yue! What brings you here?"
Kong Yue pulled him to a corner and whispered, "I need your help to take a look at the machine."
"The machine?" Master Long stroked his beard, shaking his head with a smile. "Did you guys mess around again and burn the machine out? Judging by the time, headquarters should have just inspected it!"
Kong Yue said apologetically, "It's a long story. Do you have time now? I'll take you there."
Master Long said cheerfully, "Alright! Let's go!"
Before retiring, Mr. Long was a technician at the Twelfth Street in Xiangzhou. Later, because his mother wanted to return to her hometown of Jiaozhou, he came with her and occasionally helped the Twelfth Street modify some small machines.
Because of the confidentiality of the case, Kong Yue briefly highlighted the key points on the way: "Recently, we've encountered trouble with the people from the Ghost Gate. There's someone who has intricate connections to the case, but the key is that we can't detect any special energy field on her. Master Long, do you think it's possible that the Ghost Gate's technology has developed to the point where it can completely conceal special abilities?"
Master Long: "Did you take them back to the base for testing? Did you do a blood test?"
The base is the headquarters of the 12th Street. That's what the older generation calls it.
Kong Yue: "No, it's just a compass test within normal distance."
Master Long chuckled, "You wouldn't have known it was equipped with a jammer?"
Kong Yue asked in confusion, "Didn't we say before that even with a shield, the magnetic field would still be exposed?"
"Silly girl," said Master Long, "Your machine can be upgraded, but other people's jamming devices can't be updated? Only blood doesn't lie."
Kong Yue suddenly realized, and while waiting at the traffic light, she texted Qian Fei: "Find a way to get Chai Yan's blood."
The two arrived at the headquarters on 12th Street. Master Long thoroughly inspected the machine and its connected systems, inside and out, including the portable compass detector. He said, "There are no problems, but didn't your Jiazhou apply for any new equipment this year?"
Kong Yue: "The boss said that Jiazhou is a mountainous area with few people with superpowers. It has been peaceful for decades without any trouble. This level of machine is sufficient."
"Oh dear," said Master Long with dissatisfaction, "Qin Ming shouldn't learn from his brother! He's so unreliable!"
-
"Brother?" Linlin wiped the water off the sink, set the table, and asked curiously, "Qin Ming has a brother?"
Lin Chaoying nodded, "Yes, I work in Chongqing."
Jiangchuan slowed down his wiping of the table, perking up his ears to listen to the conversation between the two.
Linlin asked, "Yuzhou? Qin Ming doesn't look like he's from Yuzhou?"
Lin Chaoying finished tidying up the trash and tied the bag shut. "Where do they look like they're from?"
Linlin chuckled and said, "He has a commanding presence, strong features, like someone from the North." She then asked, "Sister, his brother must be very handsome too!"
"Qian Fei said he's much more handsome than Qin Ming and seems very knowledgeable." She picked up the trash and turned to meet Jiang Chuangu's dark eyes, where he was clutching a rag in his hand.
She asked in confusion, "Why are you standing here with a rag? Go wash your hands, you finally have a day off today."
Jiangchuan Valley: "Okay."
Who knew that after she finished throwing out the trash and came back from outside, she would see him still standing next to the sofa on the first floor, staring blankly at the door. Lin Chaoying waved to him, "Jiang Chuangu?"
Jiang Chuan Gu snapped out of his daze, and in his nervousness, he accidentally knocked over a vase next to him, shattering it into pieces on the ground. He quickly reached out to pick it up, but a sharp pain shot through his fingertips.
"Hey!" Lin Chaoying ran over. "Are you stupid? What are you going to use your hands to pick it up? Don't you have enough injuries already?"
Jiang Chuan Gu remained silent, his eyes lowered, and quietly followed her to the backyard to wash his wounds.
Lin Chaoying left with the words: "Zhou Pei! Sweep away the vases on the first floor!"
Jiang Xu and Zhou Pei, standing at the top of the stairs, saw everything clearly from beginning to end, and they exchanged a glance.
Zhou Pei pointed and said, "Dude? So fragile?"
Jiang Xu didn't understand, but wanting to save face for his brother, he said, "I've been going through a pretty tough time lately..."
The cool water flowed over the wound, diluting the overflowing blood little by little, briefly numbing the pain. The flesh that had been turned outwards due to the cut gradually turned necrotic and white. Lin Chaoying's fair and bony hand tightly controlled his fingertips.
Jiangchuan Gu leaned against the edge of the pool with one hand, standing behind her in a wrapping manner, his eyes never leaving her.
Lin Chaoying was completely unaware of how close the two of them were, and said to herself, "You look terrible today, you seem distracted? How about I have Zhou Pei take you out for a day? The scenery around here is quite nice, it'll help you relax."
The person behind her didn't speak. When she looked up, Jiang Chuan Gu's handsome face was right in front of her. He had droopy eyelids and awkwardly avoided looking at her. After hesitating for a moment, as if he had made up his mind, he tentatively asked, "Did I disturb you?"
"Huh?" Lin Chaoying was caught off guard by this baffling question. "No."
Jiang Chuan Gu's face was truly a work of art, especially his eyes, which were now sparkling brightly, their gaze conveying a melancholy and affection.
Lin Chaoying then realized that compared to when he was eighteen, he had long since shed his confusion and ignorance at thirty-one.
He seemed to swallow countless grievances as he gazed at her, "If I've really bothered you, just tell me, and I'll be there immediately..."
"Bang—" Lin Chaoying turned off the tap and explained seriously, "I really didn't find you annoying. Don't think too much about it. Weren't the human and ghost getting along normally before? Just get along normally like before... I'm going to get a band-aid."
Jiang Chuan Gu watched her leave, having received the answer he wanted to hear. A smile instantly spread across his eyes and brows as he murmured, "The same as before..."
Linlin ran to the backyard, "Sister! Liming is awake!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Chaoying hurriedly bandaged Jiang Chuangu's wounds and instructed him, "Don't show yourself yet, I'll go check on Li Ming's situation!"
She texted Qian Fei: 【Dawn has woken up.】
Then, he took Zhou up to the third floor. Inside the open door, Jiang Xu was talking to Li Ming.
Lin Chaoying entered the room and said, "Hello."
Li Ming also had many injuries, with bandages wrapped around his arms and shoulders. He was confused and asked, "Who are you?"
Jiang Xu: "She is the owner of the guesthouse, Lin Chaoying. You are currently in her guesthouse."
Dawn asked in confusion, "Why am I here?"
Why? Why?
Lin Chaoying wished she could say, "You barged in like a bull, smashed her guesthouse to pieces, and beat everyone to a pulp!"
She kept smiling. "Shall I show you a video?"
He walked to his bedside, pushed Jiang Xu aside, and used his phone to play the video of the fight that night. He removed the scenes of his superpowers appearing, but kept the footage of his evil deeds against Kekexili and the injured.
Dawn couldn't believe the person inside was herself, and exclaimed in horror, "Impossible! I have no recollection of this! I would never kill a woman!"
Lin Chaoying retorted irritably, "So Jiang Chuan Gu and Zhou Pei deserve to die?!"
Knowing he was in the wrong and being tongue-tied, Li Ming remained silent.
Seeing this, Jiang Xu tried to smooth things over, saying, "I also believe in Li Ming. Is there some misunderstanding?"
Lin Chaoying knew that Li Ming was hypnotized and brainwashed, which was why he hurt others, but from Jiang Xu's perspective, he didn't know if Li Ming had been brainwashed. He had even witnessed Li Ming beating up Jiang Chuangu at the police station.
Just because he wants to vent his anger, does Leon Lai think he can hurt others at will?
As a friend of Jiangchuan Valley, shouldn't the procedure be: first find out the reason, then neutrally persuade both sides to resolve the conflict?
Why is Jiang Xu being biased again? Is it just so he can talk to someone else?
"Jiang Xu, you're still the same after all these years?" Lin Chaoying didn't even bother to roll her eyes, and directly scolded him: "Who's your friend! Didn't you see this video? He almost beat Jiang Chuangu to death! I'm asking you, did Jiang Chuangu kill Li Chao? He deserved to be beaten to death because of his family's resentment? Besides, I was beaten unconscious for a week!"
Jiang Xu felt guilty for a moment and remained silent.
Li Ming sighed, threw off the covers, stood up, and said righteously, "I'm going to turn myself in!"
"Hey!" Lin Chaoying grabbed him. "I'm just angry about his attitude. I came to tell you that you did indeed do this, but there are signs of being hypnotized and brainwashed. The priority now is to find the person who hypnotized you. Have you seen this photo of you before?"
She clicked on Chai Jing's photo.
After scanning the area, Li Ming said with certainty, "I've seen it before."
Lin Chaoying: "So fast, did you see it clearly?"
Last night, Linlin spent a long time recognizing her, but she didn't remember much.
Leon Lai said, "I have a good memory, especially when it comes to recognizing faces." Then he began to elaborate: "I passed by her when I went to the police station. She came out of the interrogation room, and I happened to be at the door. After that, my memory is all jumbled up."
Lin Chaoying speculated: If it really was Chai Yan, she would have distracted the police at the hospital to brainwash Linlin, but then she would have been taken in for questioning because of her suspicious behavior. At that time, she would have met Li Ming and brainwashed him again.
She asked, "When you entered the police station, did you mention to this woman that you were Le Chao's brother?"
Li Ming recalled, "No, definitely not."
That's strange. Why would Chai Yan brainwash a complete stranger?
I suddenly remembered Qian Fei's words—"She described to the police that she was in a state of amnesia and confusion, and her testimony was exactly the same as Linlin's..."
Did she brainwash the police in the interrogation room? Did she know everything when she was checking on the case's progress? Was she interrupted for some reason? Did the brainwashed police officer make a mistake when processing the testimony?
But there are security cameras in the interrogation room! How did she manage that?
How many people can Chai Yan actually brainwash?
Li Ming asked, "Is Jiangchuan Valley still there?"
Lin Chaoying asked warily, "What are you doing?"
Dawn's words were succinct: "Apologize."
Jiang Xu seized the opportunity to run away: "I'll go get him!"
Leon Lai: "Could you give me a cell phone later? I want to let my parents know I'm safe; they're still waiting for news abroad."
“Okay.” Lin Chaoying asked, “Will you wait here for the police to catch the murderer?”
Li Ming shook his head, sat on the stool, leaning back as if all his strength had left him, expressionless, with grief and exhaustion streaming from his eyes. He sighed.
"Knock knock knock-" Jiangchuan Valley knocked on the door and came in.
As dawn broke and the two looked up, there was no resentment or anger as expected, no quarrel or fight. It was as if their souls had been emptied, leaving only sorrow and pain in their eyes.
A friend who has lost their significance.
A brother who lost his shelter from the wind and rain.
Li Ming stood up, bowed deeply, and said, "I'm sorry."
Jiang Chuan Gu hurriedly helped him up, saying, "I should be the one apologizing."
Two people who have never spoken or met before become the people who understand each other's feelings best at this moment.
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